The Seriousness Of Rape And The Crime Itself

Sexual assault is sexual intercourse, or any sexual act, done without consent. It is often violent where victims are being physically forced to engage in the act against their will. It may involve a stranger or someone familiar. All forms of sexual assault are crimes, even if the parties involved were drinking, taking drugs, given drugs, or unconscious. Hundreds of Americans are affected by sexual violence everyday. Although there is a lot more attention being given to this topic than there was previously, many people still do not believe that it is a big deal. I see a lot of jokes about rape and sexual violence, and viewers find them to be epigrammatic. Also, men make claims like “asking for permission is a sign of weakness” or “forcing yourself on women makes them love you” as an excuse

When asked to define the word rape, a number of responses may be given depending upon what country or state one lives in and if one is a male or female. According to Pandora’s Project.org, rape is defined as any sexual contact or penetration attained without consent; with physical force, intimidation, threat, trickery, or when the victim is mentally capacitated, physically or mentally impaired, asleep or unconscious; this includes due to voluntary or involuntary alcohol or drug consumption.

     There are two sides to a rape, the rapist and the victim. The victim is most of the time a woman but men are raped as well. It is a common myth that there is a type of woman that is more likely to be raped. This is indeed a myth, most of the time rape is a crime of opportunity, the victim is not chosen because of her looks or behavior, but because she is there (Benedict 2). The average rape victim is 18-39 years old and female, the average rapist is 25 years old and male. The effect of rape on a woman is an enormous one. The woman will come away from a rape with both physical and psychological damage. Eventually the physical wounds will heal, the psychological wounds will take quite some time before or if they ever heal (Grady 4). A sexual assault robs the woman of a sense of control; a feeling of loss of freedom is common among rape victims. To put her life in order she must regain this sense of control. Almost all rape victims suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (Benedict 2). The first symptom is the reliving or re-experiencing of the

For our research proposal, we have chosen to analyze a topic that hits fairly close to home for the three of us. This paper will look at the social condition of sexual assault concerning college aged females on public Texas University property. The paper will mimic the style of a grant, as if we were an organization looking to get funds to implement a program that would help decrease this problem in our community. The problem of sexual assault is a very broad topic; under it falls everything from forced sexual intercourse, to child molestation, to fondling. In order to make our research more accurate, we have chosen to reduce the definition of sexual assault down to just forced intercourse, or in other terms, rape. We have found a

According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, “there is an average of 237,868 victims (age 12 or older) of rape and sexual assault each year.” It is estimated that “out of every 100 rapes, 40 get reported to the police, 10 lead to an arrest, 8 get prosecuted, 4 lead to a felony conviction” and “3 rapists will spend even a single day in prison.” Furthermore, “about 95% of” the four percent of felony “convictions are obtained by way of a plea agreement” rather than through trial. In some states, like “California, there is a higher acquittal rate for rape than for any other felony" (926).

The Centers for Disease control reports that one out of every five women will be sexually assaulted or raped during their lifetime with most victims being girls or younger women. According to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network (https://www.rainn.org) which calls itself “the nation 's largest anti-sexual assault organization,” nine out of ten rape victims are women and there are more than 237,000 victims of sexual assault in the U.S. every year, with a reporting rate of only 40 percent. Eighty percent of victims are under 30. Two-thirds of all the reported assaults are by someone known to the victim and only 3 percent of rapists get any jail time. The effects of rape are long lasting and have public health and social welfare consequences. According to RAINN, victims of sexual assault have higher rates of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and drug and alcohol abuse than the general population. Rape is a personal issue because of the trauma it induces in its

Victims are often too afraid to come forward or even to tell friends or family about their rape. They suffer from things like Rape Trauma Syndrome or if the rape was traumatic enough PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Scientifically speaking, from the article “Reporting Rape in a National Sample of College Women”, “Approximately 1 in 7 US women have been rape in their lifetimes...Estimates from the 1990s and 2000s indicate that only 16% and 20% of forcible rape victims report the rape to law enforcement” (Wolitzky-Taylor). This shocking statistic shows the high percentage of unreported rapes in the country. Most rapists are repeat offenders and with the high percentage of unreported rapes the law enforcement has to have numerous victims before they are able to get a brave victim to speak up. A majority of rapes or attempted rapes on college campus happens to 1 out of 4 women according to the article. The rapes showed to be reported most of times involve the stereotype of rape by a stranger and getting injuries. The lower chances of getting a victim to report her rape is when she under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In college rape the chances of women reporting is less likely than in the general public because they experience non-stranger rape which could be a friend or partner

The main debate amongst the explanation is the key motivation that drives the offender to commit rape. Previously, majority of social scientists’ perspective of rape is seen as a sexually motivated crime; for instance, males are given the opportunity to fulfil their sexual desires that cannot be met legally, thus

Women, girls, men, and boys are vulnerable victims of sexual assaults every day in our country. While females experience much higher rates of sexual assaults than males. The problem that this country faces is the lack of being able to track rapist, in addition to the victims that chose not to report their assault of being raped to the police. Issues of under reporting comes from the victims with multiple reasons that hinders them from reporting these heinous criminal acts. Thus, the sad realization is that the perpetrator is usually some one that you know, that you would of never of thought that they could and would, and do sexually assault you.

Rape is an experience which shakes the foundations of the lives of the victims. For many its effect is long term, impairing their capacity for personal relationships, altering their behaviour and values and generating fear, Temkin (1986:17).

Kidshealth.org: Rape: An informative article describing the violent sexual crime known as rape. It offers pertinent advice for victims and those uneducated regarding this horrific crime.

Rape also known as sexual assault is having sexual intercourse or any form of sexual penetration against a person’s will or consent. It could be carried out by coercion, the use of physical power or abuse of authority. It is an act many societies, if not all discourage, and attracts different form of punishment in different geographical locations. There are many consequences of rape; some people suffer from depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Suicidal tendencies, and Anxiety Disorder. It was not a surprise when the Mr. Cosby’s alleged case of rapes were waved and flooded to the entire media channels in the USA and other countries. Majority of people can recall number of such cases where some prominent African – Americans were sued

p. 69).” rape is violence against women. It is a violation of her body and her trust. According to Burns, a sociologist at Michigan State University, “rape is forced and unwanted intercourse, where sexual assault is used as a power and sex is a method (Mousseau, 2006. p. 1).” Most rapes are committed not by strangers, but by men known to women, perhaps someone they have gone out with or are supposedly their friends. It can be someone she just met or even her fiancé, but often it is an attempt to assert power or anger. A study by the National Center for the Preventive and Control rape claims ninety percent of rapes are never reported. In those that are reported, sixty percent knew their assailants. Of these, women fifteen to twenty-five are majority of the victims. Alcohol and drugs sometimes play a significant factor, especially in date rape or acquaintance rape cases (Mousseau, 2006).

Most people think that rape is about sex but it is not. If rape was about getting sex the person would just go and have sex with someone who wants to give it to them. Paying for sex is better than going out and raping someone. Rape is also called sexual assault. Rape is about having power and control over someone. Rape is defined as one person forcing another person, without his or her consent and using violence or threatening violence, to have intercourse or other forms of sexual activity. Usually when people hear about rape they think of a man raping a woman, but rape can happen to anyone. It is one of the worst things that can happen to someone. Some people think that rape is

     Webster’s Dictionary describes rape as the crime of forcing another person to submit to sex acts, especially sexual intercourse. Rape is a crime in which most women cannot defend themselves. The fear of rape plagues every woman at some point or another in her life. The traumatic effects of rape vary from mild to severe, from psychological to physical. This paper will evaluate rape, as well as the effects it has on women, the theory behind male dominance and patriarchy, and differences in demographics.